The typical computer system has a host computer connected to one or more workstation controllers. Each of the workstation controllers (WSC) is connected to one or more deices. When the user notices poor response time on the device, he or she wants to know what is responsible for the poor response time. Often the WSC driving that device may be the source of the problem. When the user notices poor response time it would be desirable to have a computer system that is capable of informing the user of the location of the bottleneck quickly and efficiently so that corrections can be made.
Several attempts have been made in the past to achieve a computer system capable of efficiently detecting bottlenecks, but they are usually quite cumbersome and often involve a large amount of additional hardware to carry out the function. In addition, prior attempts were usually so complex only a trained service representative could interpret the data.